I agree that it is probably cordierite, and yes I think it is better than fibrament because it is more conductive and will therefore transfer heat faster. On the other hand it looks pretty thin so it may take a while to reload the heat between pies.

Barry

Logged

Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

John, it depends on the oven, and on your desired style. For those seeking faster New York bakes, and for ovens with broilers in the main compartment, which, if memory serves me correctly, is you, and is also the majority of ovens, cordierite is superior to Fibrament, as Barry pointed out. If the broiler is in a separate drawer, then Fibrament is the better choice.

As far as cordierite stones go, this is one of the better ones. Not counting the legs, I think this could be either 5/8" or 3/4". It also appears to be a quality cordierite.

If you are attempting to match this material exactly, that can be problematic. Cordierite can vary in both composition and manufacturing process. A new cordierite stone will most likely not have the same baking properties– at least, not exactly the same. There will be variations.

While there are some sources of cordierite that have confirmed higher conductivities (Mike (Essen1) uses one), if you are shopping for a hearth, as long as you have an oven that can reach 550 and have a broiler in the main compartment, 1/2" steel is a better candidate.

Scotty, do you know if a 1" cordierite kiln shelf like the one Mmmph linked to is more or less conductive than your typical firebrick? I know that maybe hard to answer bc firebrick conductivity can vary, but I was hoping maybe I could use a kiln shelf in my wfo to cure it of burned bottoms.

While this is the stone that I recommend for people shopping for cordierite, I'm not 100% certain that it can match the baking properties of John's existing stone. It could easily clock in with a lower conductivity which would extend his current bake times.

John, what preheat temps are you reaching, and what are your current bake times?

Logged

scott123

Scotty, do you know if a 1" cordierite kiln shelf like the one Mmmph linked to is more or less conductive than your typical firebrick? I know that maybe hard to answer bc firebrick conductivity can vary, but I was hoping maybe I could use a kiln shelf in my wfo to cure it of burned bottoms.

Chau, while cordierite can vary from brand to brand, the conductivity will never drop as low as fire brick. Cordierite seems to fall into a range between 2 – 3 W/m–K, while firebrick is closer to 1. A special low conductivity firebrick has recently come to the forum's attention.

@Chau:Replacing the entire cooking surface of a WFO seems like a a major undertaking. If I understand the heating process correctly, though, it could be pointless. If you are not cooking your pies in the same place that you have built a fire, the same heat loading mechanism that is cooking the top of your pie heats up the hearth when the pie is not present. This is top-down convective heat. The firebrick is soaking in the heat and releases it when you place a heat-absorbent substance (crust) on it. So, how to attain cooking temperature without overheating your hearth? Tricky exercise in fire management or you could do it the easy way: add a large cast iron skillet to your hearth where you are going to cook, just before cooking. When ready to cook, take the skillet out, thus removing a percentage of the thermal load in the firebrick. That should buy you at least 40-50 seconds additional time. Not the "best" solution, I'm sure, but it might help when cooking NY style instead of Neo style in your WFO.

@Chau:Replacing the entire cooking surface of a WFO seems like a a major undertaking. If I understand the heating process correctly, though, it could be pointless. If you are not cooking your pies in the same place that you have built a fire, the same heat loading mechanism that is cooking the top of your pie heats up the hearth when the pie is not present. This is top-down convective heat. The firebrick is soaking in the heat and releases it when you place a heat-absorbent substance (crust) on it. So, how to attain cooking temperature without overheating your hearth? Tricky exercise in fire management or you could do it the easy way: add a large cast iron skillet to your hearth where you are going to cook, just before cooking. When ready to cook, take the skillet out, thus removing a percentage of the thermal load in the firebrick. That should buy you at least 40-50 seconds additional time. Not the "best" solution, I'm sure, but it might help when cooking NY style instead of Neo style in your WFO.

Nate, I'm not interested in replacing the entire floor. I'm interested in placing a less conductive stone on my current floor bc the bottoms of my NP pies are burning at high temps (900f). It's less to do with fire management and more to do with the materials used to build my oven. The oven is unbalanced in the way it distributes heat at high temps. The cast iron trick you mention sounds promising and it is similar to what Omid is doing with a metal plate in his wfo, which he posted about recently. I will try placing 16x16 metal pizza tray first and then the whitacre greer fire bricks that member Shuboyje talked about.